Meyer to target overall classification of Tour de Langkawi with Orica GreenEdge

After the previous confirmation that the Garmin – Sharp and Astana teams would compete in the 2013 edition, the Tour de Langkawi has announced that another WorldTour – level UCI ProTeam will line out in the Malaysian contest.

The 2011 Santos Tour Down Under winner Cameron Meyer will lead the Orica GreenEdge team in the ten day race, which begins on February 21st. The multiple world track champion is continuing his development as a stage race rider and after that Tour Down Under success, his solid tenth overall in this year’s Tirreno – Adriatico plus second on a stage of the Vuelta a España, he can head to Malaysia as one of the favourites.

He will be joined by his brother Travis Meyer, 2011 Giro d’Italia stage winner Pieter Weening, Sam Bewley, Aidis Kroupis and Luke Durbridge.

The latter had a stunning first pro season, following up his win in the Australian national TT championships with a stage plus the overall in both the Circuit de la Sarthe and the Tour du Poitou Charentes, victory in the prologue of the Critérium du Dauphiné and first in the Duo Normand with Svein Tuft.

And while the Tour de Langkawi will not feature a time trial in 2013, his strength marks his out as a rider who could play a big part in shaping the race.

Orica GreenEdge team manager Shayne Bannan has attended the race before as the directeur sportif with the Australian national team in 1998, two years after the first edition of the Tour de Langkawi was won by Australian Institute of Sport rider Damian McDonald. “Our common history is a pretty long one,” he said.

Le Tour de Langkawi CEO Emir Abdul Jalal sees things the same way. “To welcome Orica-GreenEdge is the pinnacle of our long lasting relationship with Australia,” he said. “As the first Pro Team from Oceania, they fit perfectly into our event. We understand that they won’t only come to participate but they are putting together a strong team for winning the overall classification and a few stages.”

The Tour de Langkawi is pushing to continue developing the race. One long term goal could be to secure WorldTour status, but in the meantime it will seek to have as many big teams there as possible.

According to Minister of Youth and Sports YB Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, the addition of another top squad is part of what will be a general jump in standard in 2013. “We are proud to have with us the third Protour team for our next race, after Garmin and Astana. I was led to understand that the responses for this year’s participation is much greater than the previous years.”

The 2.HC race will be preceeded by a criterium on Langkawi on February 20th, with stage one running from Kangar to Kulim the following day.

As was the case in previous years, the Genting Highlands will feature and will likely determine the final overall winner. Also set to be important are stage three’s Cameron Highlands. Meyer will relish the chance to show his strength on both, and Weening could also be a factor if he is in good form.